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Vic Viper
Vic Viper is the protagonist's spaceship from Konami's popular shoot 'em up series Gradius. The starfighter has been renowned for both its remarkable adaptability and unique twin-pronged fuselage. It has been at the player's control in almost ten different titles. Wikia Match-Ups * Vic Viper VS R-9A Arrowhead Possible Opponents * TwinBee and WinBee (TwinBee) * Opa-Opa (Fantasy Zone; Parodius variant) * Rynex (Thunder Force IV) * ZIG (Zero Wing) History Gradius An omnicidal force known as the Bacterian Empire attacks the Gradius Empire for destructive ambitions. In order to counter these forces, a starfighter is built by the Gradians in order to counter the evil forces. Their result is a small, but nimble fighter called the Vic Viper that is tasked to track down and destroy the main source of the Bacterians. After visiting several different planets including one filled with volcanos and one containing a sentient, hostile version of Moai statues. The Vic Viper locates the aircraft carrier where the Bacterians are originating from. It manages to get through tight security before it finally reaches the power source, a large, manipulative brain. The starfighter manages to destroy the brain and in turn defeat the Bacterian forces, before it finally returns to Gradius, as its mission is accomplished. Gradius II The Bacterians return once more, bringing the same destruction as they caused in the former game, but this time under leadership of a entity known as Gofer. The Vic Viper, now a more modified version of it, is tasked again to track down and destroy the head of the hostile empire, but also having to go through several new environments and enemies, whilst revisiting old environments as well. Eventually, the Vic Viper locates the Bacterian cruiser and after defeating a menagerie of old foes and infiltrating through tight security, the starfighter locates and battles Gofer, to which it destroys and beats a hasty retreat when the large cruiser begins to self-destruct. With the hope that the Bacterians are done for once more, Vic Viper returns back to its home planet. Gradius III Once more, the Bacterians return, and this time much more prepared than before, and under leadership of a massive being known as Bacterion. A new version of the Vic Viper is created to help counter the Bacterian Empire's new tactics of defense. This craft is now capable of using a custom load out of weapons unlike its predecessors, as well as a variety of new weapons. After visiting 9 different planets (both new and old in the series), the Vic Viper locates the location of the Bacterian leader and battles through a menagerie of enemies, including several bosses from the previous titles and a giant mechanical spider. It eventually makes its way to Bacterion but is sent into a paradox where it must replay one of two levels from previous titles, it is then returned to the base where it confronts Bacterion once more, and manages to defeat the Bacterian leader and escape from the mechanical base before it self-destructs, it then heads back to Gradius to celebrate its third victor against the Bacterian Empire. Gradius IV After enjoying a period of peace, the Gradius Empire is attacked once more by the Bacterians, this time under command of a dependent of Gofer. As usual, the Vic Viper travels across different planets with new and familiar landscapes defeating several Bacterian bosses along the way, eventually making it's way into the Bacterian's battleship and destroying the mastermind behind the attacks. Gradius V Once more, the Bacterian Empire attacks Gradius for the fifth time, Vic Viper is tasked to enter the battleship and destroy the commanding source (a brain entity similar to the one from the first game). Seeming to have taken a much shorter time then usual, it is instructed by a future version of the pilot to carefully navigate and destroy the main core simultaneously once they reach the source. Afterwards, the fighters sent to seek out more Bacterian forces and bosses before coming to a dead end when it seems that the true source is now impenetrable, seeing the opportunity with the ship's new ability to travel back in time, the pilot willingly does so and travels back to the beginning to instruct their past-self to navigate through the interior of the cruiser and destroy the source simultaneously once they both reach it. Upon confronting the source for a second time, the Vic Viper destroys the source fast and easily, but is warned by the entity that even if they destroyed them, the Bacterians would eventually return. Information Background * Age: Unknown * Alignment: Orderly Good * Original Source Material: Gradius, Salamander, Gradius II: GOFER no Yabou, Gradius III, Gradius Gaiden, Gradius Galaxies, Gradius IV, Gradius V, Gradius ReBirth * Composites Allowed: Nemesis 2, Nemesis 3: The Eve of Destruction, Salamander 2, Solar Assault, Nemesis (Game Boy), Gradius: The Interstellar Assault Arsenal & Equipment * Laser Cannon: Vic Viper's primary weapon in the series. A single, straight-forward cannon which can be fired at semi-rapid succession. * Missile Types: Vic Viper's main secondary weapon found in the Gradius series. In the arcade versions, they are fired by a separate button, but later console releases made them activated by the same button as the regular shot for convenience, though you can still fire them separately in more recent versions. Vic Viper often drop a missile downwards. ** Missile: Fires one missile downward that flies along the terrain. Some versions of Gradius allow you to upgrade missiles to a Level 2 shot, causing them to travel faster. Appears in most games. ** Upper Missile: Fires one missile upward that flies along the terrain. Gradius III Arcade exclusive. ** Hawk Wind: Depending on the vertical position of the firing craft, shoots a missile up or down. Note that in the MSX port of Salamander as well as Nemesis 3: Eve of Destruction, "Hawk Wind" refers to the missile's ability to climb surfaces instead of stopping at a hill. The Hawkwind appears in in Gradius III SNES, as well as Salamander MSX and Nemesis 3 as the "2Way B.", and Gradius V under the name "Eagle Wind". ** Spread Bomb: Drops bombs in an frontal arc that explode in a wide blast. Generally the most damaging missile weapon. One of the most common weapons to appear, it appears in most games, and Nemesis 90 kai as the Napalm. ** S. Spread: Has two versions. In Gradius III Arcade, it drops spread bombs backwards. In Gradius III SNES, it drops two small spread bombs straight downward. ** Napalm Missile: Like a combination of the regular Missile and Spread Bomb, it fires downward and follows the terrain, exploding on contact with a series of blasts. Appears in Nemesis 2 and Nemesis 3. The name is also used in Nemesis 90 Kai, but the weapon there is a regular Spread Bomb. ** Photon Torpedo: Like a normal missile, fires torpedoes straight down that follow the terrain. The main difference is that it has the piercing capability. This capability varies from game to game, but generally can only pass through weak enemies. Appears in most games, as well as Gradius Galaxies where it could be upgraded to fire both up and down, and Nemesis 3 where it was slowed down but gained more striking power. ** Guided/Homing Missile: Homes in on the nearest enemy. Appears in Salamander MSX and Nemesis 3. ** Control Missile: Manually move the missile up or down with the directional buttons. Gradius III Arcade exclusive. ** 2-Way Missile: Fires missiles straight up and down, which disappear on contact. Appears in most games. The version that appears in Salamander (not MSX), Salamander 2, and Gradius Gaiden either follow the terrain, or can be upgraded to do so. ** 2-Way Back: These 2-way missiles launch behind Vic Viper instead of in front. Appears in Gradius III SNES and Gradius V. The name also appears in Salamander MSX as a Hawk Wind style weapon. ** Flying Torpedo: Two missiles fly straight forward. In Gradius IV, holding the missile button will make them spread apart vertically before launching forward (Gradius V & IV). ** Vertical Mine: Similar to Spread Bombs, these bombs explode on enemy contact or after a short time. The explosion is a thick vertical line. Mines are thrown with the velocity and direction of Vic Viper, and are affected by gravity at all times (Gradius IV). ** Arming Ball: Salamander MSX exclusive. Special weapon that only becomes available after a successful Union in a 2 player cooperative game. Orb that is fired in the last direction moved in, and bounces off of surfaces one time. It was not possible to obtain this weapon in the final release. ** Howk(sic) missile variants: Upgrade available to missile weapons in Salamander MSX and Nemesis 3. Allows missiles to ascend terrain. Name overlaps with Hawk Wind missiles. ** Psy Com: Homing Missile under a different name. Appears in Solar Assault as the Alpinias missile. * Option Types: Vic Viper produces 4 following energy orbs called "Phantoms" that have all of the weapons as Vic Viper and can usually max out at 4, resulting in quadruple the additional firepower. In addition, they are invincible so enemies cannot attack them save for one. Many have additional special properties that only add to their effectiveness. Of special note is Salamander 2, where they can be sacrificed for a powerful homing attack. ** Option: The normal variant (also called Multiple in the American/European version and Shadow Option in Nemesis 3). Options follow the movements of Vic Viper exactly. They are in every Gradius game. ** Multiple: Function similarly to Option, but depending on the game have a different effect: in Salamander and Life Force they remain near Vic Viper. ** Rolling Option: Makes options orbit around Vic Viper. Like the Formation Options, they lose some fluidity in movement. They have more concentrated fire, but do not cover as wide an area. However, they extend a little in front and behind which can set up good attack positions. In the NES version of Gradius II, regular options can become Rotating Options for a short time by spending additional energy in the Option slot after getting four of them. ** Formation Option: Creates a formation of Options, two above and two below Vic Viper. While they lose the ability to have concentrated fire and fluidity, they allow move area coverage. ** Snake Option: Follows Vic Viper's movements, but has a tail-like attribute to them. They will swing in the opposite direction when Vic Viper stops moving. They are hard to use, but effective control can lead to impressive attack positions. ** Option Seed: A smaller option that orbits Vic Viper and automatically shoots small shots. Getting another Option Seed creates a new option. ** Freeze Option: They act like standard options until the function is active, then they hold their positions relative to Vic Viper. If used effectively, they can be used in impressive attack positions and destroy major targets with ease. ** Direction Option: They act like standard options, but they can be aimed to shoot in any direction with the price of Vic Viper being unable to move. When used effectively, they can be very destructive. ** Spacing Option: These options are similar to the Formation Option, in that they remain in predetermined positions, but the Option Button can be used to increase/decrease the area between the options. Good for adjusting between wide and concentrated attacks. ** Armed Guard Option: These act like standard options, but have a protective armor that blocks bullets. These add additional defense to Vic Viper but dissipate with more hits, weakness is determined by color. * Laser Types: Much powerful than Vic Viper's regular shots, though their fire is often concentrated on the front and not as versatile as the Double Types. ** Laser: The most basic type. It generally manifests as a continuous beam with piercing ability. Holding down the fire button gives a beam of longer duration. Attack power varies from game to game. In some games (Nemesis 2, Gradius Gaiden), it can be upgraded to fire a longer beam. ** Extend Laser: An upgrade to the standard laser in Nemesis 2, two lasers are fired. The Nemesis 90 Kai version just increases the attack power and adds a fluctuating color effect. ** Twinkle Laser: An upgrade to the standard laser, the beam gets wider and has a sparkling effect. ** Screw Laser: An upgrade to the Meteor and Twinkle Lasers, this laser bends the laser and expands hit making it look like a drill. Very wide attacking range. ** Cyclone Laser: An upgrade to the standard laser, it has a spiral effect and is slightly thicker. *** Hyper Ray: Upgrade to the Cyclone Laser in Salamander 2. Faster and more powerful than Cyclone Laser. ** Ripple Laser: An expanding laser that can hit targets over a wide range. Has a wide range of attack strengths that vary from game to game. The edges of the Ripple often have piercing, increasing damage massively at long distances. In Vulcan Venture, it is called Pulse Laser. *** Buster Ripple: Upgrade to the Ripple Laser in Salamander 2. Larger and Faster than Ripple Laser. ** Fire Blaster: A short range weapon, but (intended) to be very powerful. Unfortunately, it is bugged in Nemesis 2 and Nemesis 3, and does very little damage to most enemies. This was corrected in some ports of Nemesis 2, as well as Gradius V. Double cell weapon in Nemesis 2. *** Extend Blaster: Has twice the power as the Fire Blaster, but still has its short range. This weapon is also bugged to do little damage. ** Reflex Ring: Nemesis 2 exclusive. Special upgrade weapon that appears in the Double cell. Travels a short distance before returning. ** Twin Laser: Shoots two thin, short lasers. Attack strength varies wildly between games. Generally harder to focus the attacking strength thanks to the splitting beams. Gradius 3 SNES version has piercing, making it very good as a screen sweeper. The Gradius Galaxies version features tremendous attack strength. The Salamander 2 version is an oddity, with beams that dissipate more the further along they travel. This name can also refer to a weapon in Salamander MSX that fires a pair of regular lasers. *** Spear Laser: Upgrade to the Twin Laser in Salamander 2. More powerful and it doesn't get thinner like Twin Laser. ** Vector Laser: A temporary pickup weapon that releases very powerful expanding waves with very large attack strength and piercing ability. In Nemesis 3, this is an upgrade to the Ripple Laser/Fire Blaster on the 2way missile type, and is the most powerful weapon in the game. The Vector also shows up in Gradius ReBirth as one of weapons of the hidden Metalion types. It functions similar to a Ripple Laser and can pass through terrain. ** Energy Laser: Fires a very powerful laser ball that charges. In Gradius III Arcade, the charging sphere that envelopes Vic Viper does great damage on enemy contact, but the resulting shot does normal damage (though moving with increased width). The Gradius III SNES and Gradius V versions both do tremendous damage when fully charged, and can can destroy most bosses in a couple of shots. ** Armor Piercing: Fires an armor piercing bullet. Slower than regular bullets, but deals more damage per round. ** Thrust: Fires a fairly thick shot with a piercing effect. Mediocre power. ** Up Laser: A laser that is fired from the top of Vic Viper, replacing the double weapon (but can be used concurrently with the laser). Note that you still have bullets when you activate this weapon. This is the first weapon upgrade in Nemesis 2. ** Down Laser: A laser that is fired from the bottom of Vic Viper, replacing the missile weapon. Note that you still have bullets when you activate this weapon. * Double Types: Vic Viper fires a pair of shots simultaneously, one forward, one in another direction. In most titles, a given source cannot fire another volley until both shots have disappeared, taking away dependability and power. ** Double: The extra shot goes 45 degrees upward. It appears in almost every Gradius game on the default type/ship. Upward firepower that can ease the difficulty of certain stages. ** Tail Gun: The extra shot goes 180 degrees backwards. Some stages have many enemies that attack from behind, making this ideal for them. ** Vertical: The extra shot goes 90 degrees straight up. For reaching entrenched targets directly above (Gradius III and V). ** Free Way: The extra shot goes in the last direction you moved in, being able to fire in one of 8 directions. Awkward, but can replace your main weapon and is extremely versatile (Gradius III AC & Gradius V). ** Spread Gun: Fires two shots in a spread pattern, and can be upgraded to fire three. A sort of pseudo-Ripple Laser (Gradius III AC). ** Back Double: The other shot goes 45 degrees backward (Gradius III SNES). ** Twin Cannon: Kind of like the Twin Laser in other games, except the projectiles are normal shots (Gradius: The Interstellar Assault). ** Round Laser: Upon firing, a growing circle laser surrounds Vic Viper. Still fires a regular bullet. ** Auto Aiming: The extra shot targets enemies from front to back, with the shots disappearing at a certain distance. Fires a regular bullet. ** V-Shot: A shot goes up and another goes down (Gradius ReBirth). ** Mind Blast: A triple shot that fires forward. Solar Assault exclusive. ** Down Double: Nemesis 3 exclusive. Fires a second shot downward. * Speed Types: A basic recurring power-up in the Gradius series that either increases or reduces Vic Viper's speed. **'Speed Up:' The most common speed power-up, increases Vic Viper's speed. **'Speed Down:' Allows to reduce Vic Viper's speed. **'Hyper Speed:' Allows to increase Vic Viper's speed by twice the regular amount. Only appeared in Life Force JP. * Shield Types: Allows Vic Viper to absorb projectiles and destroy weak enemies on contact a limited number of times before disappearing. **'Shield:' A pair of hex gear-like objects fly in from the right side of the screen to attempt to attach to Vic Viper, providing frontal protection. In Gradius V, each side absorbs fifteen hits and usually shrinks with each hit. **'Force Field:' Vic Viper is enveloped in an aura that absorbs hits from all sides. It usually absorbs three hits before disappearing, but some games grant more hits. In Salamander, the Force Field looks like half of a classic Shield. Curiously, a scrapped Pile-Up Field from Gradius III would have allowed the stacking of three Force Fields atop each other. **'Multi-Shield:' Each Shield power up bestowed upon Vic Viper places a single gear at one of the four cardinal directions. Seen in Salamander and Life Force. **'Free Shield:' Same as the Multi-Shield except the gears fly in from the right, and so can be attached to any part of Vic Viper. Seen in Gradius III and Gradius V. **'Rotating Shield:' Two Shield gears at opposite points rotate around Vic Viper rapidly. Seen in Gradius III SNES and Gradius V. **'Reduce:' In Gradius III Arcade, this shrinks Vic Viper and the collision hit-box; it can be upgraded once for a smaller size. In Gradius III SNES, this shrinks Vic Viper and absorbs up to two hits like the Force Field, with each hit enlarging Vic Viper towards its normal size. The PS2 and PSP versions of Gradius III Arcade provide a Reduce II shield that mimics this function as well as a version of Reduce I that fits in the "!" exclamation cell. **'Guard:' A Gradius Gaiden exclusive that protects top and bottom only from two hits. With this shield active, terrain collision is impossible. **'Limit:' A spherical shield that grants a few seconds of complete invincibility which even allows Vic Viper to pass through terrain. **'Mega Crush:' Generally an exclusive of the "!" exclamation cell in Gradius III, but Gradius V has it as an option for the shield cell. Using the Mega Crush clears the screen of weak enemies and all projectiles, which is essentially like using a Blue Capsule. Variants *'Vic Viper BP-456X:' Built by Dr. Venom and used by James Burton. It's used in Gradius and Gradius Rebirth. It has the basic weaponry. *'Vic Viper BP-456Y:' Vic Viper used in Nemesis GB and Gradius The Interstellar Assault. It's a slight variation of the original model. *'Vic Viper BP-8332:' A variation of Vic Viper with new wings similar to Delta-wings. Used in Salamander and Salamander 2. It featured the new Ripple Laser and Twin Missiles added to the Lord British too. An upgrade allowed it to use Options as powerful counterattack weapons. *'Vic Viper BP-8272:' Vic Viper used in Gradius II and IV. Is one of the most powerful models. It added the Spread Bomb, Armor Piercing and Floating Mine as new weapons. *'Vic Viper BP-5963:' Vic Viper used in Gradius III, a.k.a "Vic Viper Mark-III" or "M.A.X". It's the first Vic Viper able to combine great numbers of different weapons in a single fighter. The color scheme of this version is white, without blue stripes. *'Vic Viper Gaiden:' An unnamed Vic Viper used in Gradius Gaiden. *'Vic Viper BP-592A:' Vic Viper used in Solar Assault. It has the same weapons as the original model but it was created for High-speed interceptions. *'Vic Viper T-300:' A prototype version of the new T-301. Cancelled for being too unstable. *'Vic Viper T-301:' Futuristic version of Vic Viper used in Gradius V. It's known for its smaller hitbox and being capable of traveling through time by creating tears in the space-time continuum. Feats & Stats * Flew away at insane speeds after eventually making a really sharp U-turn in Gradius IV (Speed Feat) * In Gradius Gaiden, can travel faster than light and escape off a black hole (which sucks the entire stage) with its hyper-drive system (Speed Feat) * Survived atmospheric re-entry back to Earth in the arcade version of Gradius II's ending (Durability Feat) * As shown in the SNES version of Gradius III, Vic Viper can survive the planetary explosion without a scratch and still function normally (Durability Feat) * Survived an another planet-sized explosion while it was escaping in Gradius Rebirth, which took place before Gradius II (Durability Feat) * Vic Viper's wing tip was dragged on the ground in the opening cutscene of Gradius III & IV (Durability Feat) Resistances & Immunities Faults & Weaknesses Videos Arcade Longplay 471 Gradius Gradius (NES) Full Run with No Deaths (No Miss) Salamander (ARCADE) MSX Longplay 007 Nemesis 2 MSX Longplay 009 Nemesis 3 The Eve Of Destruction Arcade Longplay 472 Gradius II GOFER no Yabou Gradius II (Famicom NES) Full Run with No Deaths (No Miss) Arcade Longplay 473 Gradius III Gradius III (SNES) Full Run on Arcade Difficulty Game Boy Longplay 041 Nemesis Game Boy Longplay 135 Gradius The Interstellar Assault Salamander 2 (Arcade PS1) - 2 Loops Clear (2-ALL) GRADIUS GAIDEN PSX 1cc (Vic Viper) Arcade Longplay 230 Solar Assault Arcade Longplay 474 Gradius IV Fukkatsu Game Boy Advance Longplay 052 Gradius Galaxies Gradius V (PS2) Full Run on Very Hard Wii Longplay 038 Gradius ReBirth Gallery Gradius Art 01.jpg|Vic Viper in Gradius VicViperLifeForce.jpg|Vic Viper in Life Force Gradius II sprite Vic Viper.gif|Vic Viper's sprite in Gradius II VicViperGradius3.jpg|Vic Viper in Gradius III Vic Viper Gradius 3 Intro.jpg|Vic Viper in Gradius III's intro Gradius 3 Sprite.jpg|Vic Viper's sprite in Gradius III VicViper AFD.jpg|Vic Viper in Airforce Delta Strike Vic Viper Rolling.gif|Vic Viper in Gradius IV Vic Viper PSP.jpg|Vic Viper in Gradius V Vic Viper T301.jpg|Vic Viper T-301 VicViperSolar.jpg|Vic Viper in Solar Assault GradiusYugioh.jpg|"Gradius" card from Yu-Gi-Oh! Vic Viper T 301B by BoggeyDan.png|Artist's rendition of Vic Viper Vic viper model reference by sergevirusx.jpg Final Shot 01-1.jpg Trivia * Category:What-If? Combatants Category:Konami Characters Category:Home Console Characters Category:Arcade Coin-Op Characters Category:Video Game Combatants Category:Gradius Characters Category:Spaceships Category:Heroes Category:1980s Category:Protagonist Category:Orderly Good Category:One Person Army Category:Military Combatants Category:Flight Users Category:Pyrotechnicians Category:Fire Manipulators Category:Future Characters Category:Forcefield Projectors Category:Technologists Category:Shoot 'em up Game Combatants Category:Summoners Category:Time Travelers Category:Mascots Category:Absorbers Category:Aura Manipulators